


Ships Passing

by khilari



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Future, Multi, a little fic of mostly happy endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-23 02:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khilari/pseuds/khilari
Summary: Anthy and Utena are running a wildlife clinic together when someone unexpected brings in an injured fox cub.





	Ships Passing

Utena stops sweeping out the cage that had, most recently, been home to an injured mole when she hears the door to the little wildlife clinic open. She’s quickly washing her hands when she hears the people that just entered the waiting room talking.

‘Don’t open the box, you’re going to get bitten again.’

‘Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to check he wasn’t upset after the car…’

‘Don’t say sorry, you’re never… _I told you not to open the box_.’

Utena pushes open the door and arrives behind the counter just in time to see an injured fox cub wobble over the edge of a cardboard box and plummet towards the floor. Before she has time to take in anything else she’s vaulted over the counter and caught the little bundle of fluff in her hands. It promptly bites her.

‘Hey, hey, don’t do that,’ she says, as soothingly as she can. She doesn’t have Anthy’s ability to instantly connect with animals. It’s only when she’s prised the teeth out of her hand and stood up that she realises she knows these people. Touga and Saionji are staring at her as warily as a lot of the clinic’s patients do, shocked into silence. They look different, of course they would after five years. Touga’s hair is shorter and they’re both wearing casual clothes instead of those omnipresent student council uniforms.

Anthy walks in, hair up in the net she uses during work and says, ‘Do we have a new patient, Utena?’ Then she stops. Utena takes a step towards her, afraid of what it might do to her to have a little bit of their past come back so abruptly. Saionji makes a gesture almost as if he’s going to reach for her and then pulls his hand back sharply. ‘Oh, I see we do,’ Anthy says, gaze sweeping over the boys and dismissing them. She takes the fox cub out of Utena’s hands and lifts it to her face. ‘Hello, little one. I’m Anthy, let’s see what we can do for you.’ She walks out, still talking to the fox.

‘She’s changed less than I expected,’ Touga says.

‘She’s changed more than you know,’ Utena corrects him sharply. ‘She’s not scared of people now, she just doesn’t like _you_.’

‘Understandable.’ Touga lifts his hands in a placating gesture and Utena notices blood dripping from one of them.

‘Hold on,’ she says. She grabs the first aid kit from under the desk and quickly cleans and bandages her own shallow bite and then says, ‘Come here.’

Touga gives her his hand with a flourish that makes her frown at him. Saionji takes a step closer with a scowl that she reads as jealousy for a moment before recognising the same impulse that had made her step towards Anthy. ‘What happened?’ she asks, realising that not only is the bite deeper than hers but there are scratches here little fox cub claws couldn’t have caused.

‘Barbed wire,’ Touga answers.

Utena pictures the little fox wrapped in metal, barbs digging through its fur, and for a moment another image superimposes, swords piercing hands and feet. She breathes in deeply, tasting the tang of antiseptic in the air, and reminds herself that was long ago. ‘Thank you for helping him,’ she says.

Touga leans forward. ‘I’d do more than that to win your approval, Tenjou-san.’

‘Oh, please.’ Utena drops the wipe and grabs a roll of bandages. ‘Don’t start that.’

‘ _Please,_ ’ Saionji echoes, more irritated than upset.

Touga shrugs them both off. ‘I suppose you and Anthy are together, now?’ he says.

‘Yes. Are you and Saionji…?’

‘Yes.’ They both say it, at the same time, Touga smiling and Saionji openly defiant.

‘Then don’t hit on me in front of your boyfriend,’ she tells Touga, tucking in the last end of bandage. ‘There.’

‘Thank you, you’re a ministering angel, Tenjou,’ he says, standing up.

‘What did I _just say?_ ’ She shakes her head. ‘It’s been… good seeing you.’ Sort of. She’s genuinely glad they got out of Ohtori okay. ‘But I have work to get back to.’

Saionji bows slightly. ‘It’s good to see you and Anthy… Himemiya-san well,’ he says, and moves towards the door before stopping and looking back for Touga.

‘Are you really kicking old friends out so soon, Tenjou-san?’ Touga asks.

‘We have to get to work too,’ Saionji says.

Touga hesitates and then pulls a notepad out of his pocket. He scribbles down a phone number and puts it down on the counter in front of Utena. ‘Will you let me know if the fox is okay?’ he asks.

Utena’s not sure whether he’s genuinely concerned or trying to keep in touch, but either way she picks it up. ‘I’ll tell you,’ she says.

It’s a relief when they leave, although not untinged with regret. The past is too big for one small waiting room to contain.

Anthy walks out while Utena’s still leaning on the counter, pensive, and wraps her arms around Utena’s shoulders.

‘Oh… Anthy. How was the fox?’

‘He’ll recover just fine,’ Anthy says. ‘How are you?’

‘Startled,’ Utena says. ‘I don’t know whether I’m glad to see them again or wish I hadn’t. Are you all right?’

‘For me they were just a couple of Duelists in a very, very long line,’ Anthy says. ‘And that year was far from the worst.’

‘Oh?’ Utena’s smiling now, melting against her girlfriend.

‘Yes.’ Anthy kisses her and then pulls back. ‘I need to feed the swallows now.’

Utena laughs, the past chased away. ‘And I need to finish cleaning that cage.’


End file.
